I Need to Tell You
by Lonely Child
Summary: Ron and Hermione have come to realize that they have feelings for each other. Now all they have to do is make them known.


Hermione's thoughts had been wondering the past few months to something that usually would not get so much as a second-thought about. Ron. She knew that her feeling for him had developed into something other than just friendship. A passing glance and a smile every now and then wasn't enough anymore. But what if he didn't feel the same? If she risked revealing her emotions to him and his weren't mutual their friendship and already-closeness might be ruined. That was not a risk Hermione was ready or willing to take.  
  
--*--*--*--  
  
Ron sat at his desk, biting his lip, trying to concentrate on the Muggle Studies essay that had been assigned two weeks ago and was due first thing Monday morning, only three days away. But something else kept nagging at the back of his mind. Something that he'd been trying to hide from everyone, himself included. It was Hermione. Truth be told, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her and it was getting increasingly difficult not to let it be a distraction. 'This is crazy' he thought. Ron promised himself that she would know how he felt before the weekend was over.  
  
--*--*--*--  
  
Breakfast in the Great Hall went as usual, except for a small increase in chattering, perhaps because of the Hogsmead trip that was scheduled for the next day. The Gryffindor table was exceptionally noisy. Lee, Angeline, Katie, Alicia, and a few other giggling girls surrounded the Weasley twins. They seemed to be making a joke about how Gryffindor had beat Slytherin in the match last weekend.   
"Higg's sure did look furious with Malfoy," laughed George.  
"Honestly! How thick is he? Not to see the snitch right below him."  
Harry, who was sitting a few feet away, grinned when he heard this, remembering how he'd grabbed the snitch right from under Malfoy's nose.  
"You'd have thought after four years of being on the team Malfoy would have gotten the hang of things."  
"Three," said Katie.  
"Three what," questioned Fred.  
"Malfoy's only been on the team three years. He didn't play last year."  
"Well, let's get critical Kat," said Lee in a sarcastically playful way. They all smiled and went on talking.   
  
Ron, who had done his usual 'Saturday-sleep-in,' came into the hall yawning. Harry spotted him and flagged him over. "Tired are we?" A grunt from his friend signified a yes. Ron sat down and pulled a bowl of porridge toward him. "Where's Mione?" he asked.  
Harry signed. "Library most likely."  
"On a Saturday?! God, when is she going to learn."  
"To relax? Ron, it's Hermione. There isn't room for relaxation in her schedule."  
Ron rolled his eyes. "I know. That's exactly my point."  
There was a second or two of silence before Harry announced, "Oh, here she comes."  
Ron turned around and couldn't help but smile. "Hi."  
"Hi Ron. Hi Harry," said Hermione.  
Harry smiled. "Studying?"  
"No, actually. I was down helping Hagrid with the pumpkins."  
Confused Ron asked why.  
"You haven't heard? Uh, there's a new thing this semester where every student has to do ten hours of service. Choices are helping out any of the staff or getting a part time job in Hogsmead."   
"Are you serious?" asked a seemingly annoyed Harry.  
"Yes, I'm serious," answered Hermione pointedly. "I probably wouldn't have been getting my hands dirty all morning if I didn't need to. First of all I have a lot of school work to do and second, well, I'm not a big fan of earth under my fingernails."  
"Well that's great. Not only do I have private Keeper practice every week, with Fred may I add, but now I have to get service hours?! Unbelievable," Ron groaned.  
Hermione shook her head at his comment. "It's only ten hours. If you start soon and work at it you'll be able to get them out of the way within a couple weeks."  
"Hermione, how are we supposed to get a part time job in Hogsmead? Students only go once a month," wondered Harry, who now seemed a bit interested.  
"Professor McGonagal told me that anyone who chooses Hogsmead get a pass allowing them to go on weekends. For the job only! No just hanging out in shops all day."  
  
Ron and Harry looked at each other excitedly. "Honeydukes!" they said declared in unison. Hermione let out an airy laugh. "Anyways, now that I've explained all that to you, how are you guys?"   
  
Their conversation went on. They spent the morning talking about classes, news in the Daily Prophet, the trip to Hogsmead the next day, and Quidditch (Ron enthusiastically defending the Chudley Cannons against Hermione's criticism). After about an hour and a half Hermione told them she needed to finish her Arithmancy lesson and left for the library.  
  
Harry and Ron walked out of the Great Hall and headed for the Quidditch pitch. Harry had offered to help Ron practice for Keeper. On the way down from the castle, the subject of girls came up.  
  
"Cho. That is such a cool name."  
Laughing at his dazed friend Ron joked about the complexity of her name.  
"Shut up," Harry said elbowing Ron in the side.  
"Ow!"  
"Well who do you like?"  
Immediately Ron went scarlet. "No one," he answered.  
"Oh, yeah. I can tell by the color of your face. You can tell me."  
"No one!" backfired Ron, maybe a little too defensively.  
Harry backed off. "Okay."  
There was a minute's pause before either said anything.  
"Bloody hell, fine. You'd have found out eventually," whispered the embarrassed redhead. "It's Hermione. I'm like…. like…. head over heels for her if you want to be cliché."  
"Our Mione? Really?"  
"Yes, our Mione."  
There was another long pause as they reached the pitch. "Well that's cool."  
Chapter 2 coming soon! R&R please. 


End file.
